Kronos looked up as a girl — perhaps a teenager — with clear, olive skin and silver hair — the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, Selene, he recognize — entered the throne room, she walked all the way to his throne and quickly bowed to his feet.

“My Lord” she spoke, her voice clear, not shaky as the others’ who come to speak with him “Queen Rhea had borne a beautiful girl, my sister is currently taking care of them, you may want to visit them” she finished, still looking at the ground, as brave as she was with her voice, it seems like it wasn't enough for her to face him.

Kronos hesitated, he knew what was going to happen, he knew what he had to do.

“Very well” he finally said and rose up from his throne, signing to Selene to follow him.

As he paced through the dark, stone made corridors, he could hear his mother's voice echoing in his head.

"The cycle shall continue again and again, my son, you shall be torn like your father was before you, by your own children, like he was and they also shall be torn by their children. The cycle shall never end, it has to happen as Parent Chaos pleases."

Gaia's voice was now ghostly and maddening, it was hard for Kronos to believe that it was the same one that used to sing countless of sleepy songs.

He and Selene had reached a black wooden door with golden nymphs carved into it, the door to their room. The same room Gaia had lead them to sometime that felt like a thousand years ago, which could be true, Titans did not know time, but for him and his late Master, they didn't need to, they were supposed to be immortal, supposed to.

They both entered in the room, which was only lighten by a hand of candles near the bed, next to them, stood another girl, resembling Selene but only in bone structure, as her skin was paler and freckled and her hair bronze like Themis’ knives — Eos, Selene’s sister and the youngest of Hyperion's triplets.

Kronos crossed the space in between him and the bed, making Eos flinch in surprise and mumble something that should have been a greeting, but he didn't hear her. His attention was only draw on the tired Queen, with her eyes half open and the dark skinned, red haired child from her arms, the moment she saw her, he knew, she wasn’t like them.

“She is our daughter” Rhea breathed heard and her lips curled in a smile as she saw her husband. Kronos sighed and embraced her. “She is indeed as beautiful as you”

“She needs a name” Selene broke in, as Eos was hiding behind her.

The King turned to his wife, knowing that he shouldn't do this, that he should just snatch the child from Rhea's arms and devore it alive, but he couldn't do this to her.

Rhea, his only weakness

“You may choose, you're the mother” he replied, trying to put on a smile.

Rhea nodded tiredly “Hestia” hearth, she said “for her fiery hair, like her father's” she continued, kissing Kronos’ cheek.

“So be it” was his only reply and rose up from the bed, knowing that he had to think of a plan soon enough. He turned to the two girls who were still standing a few feet away from the bed, Selene in front of Eos, as always “I shall escort you outside, from there Arke will help you return to the East”

Selene chuckled and looked out to the window for a moment, before returning her eyes on the King, now finally facing her, he could see her shimmering silver eyes, resembling her hair. “I think that we know our way through the night, my Lord”

Kronos locked eyes with her for a second, the Moon Titaness was brave, rather too much, he didn't know if he should like it or hate it. “Very well” he finally answered, walking to them, now looking at Eos, who hadn't make a sound since her mumbled greetings.

They exited the room together, Kronos looking back at Rhea and Hestia for a second before closing the doors and starting to walk the tangled corridors of the palace. He parted ways with the two sisters at the gates of Mount Othrys, as expected, Eos gave him a short and quiet goodbye followed by her bowing, while Selene took Kronos’ hands and kissed them before saying her goodbye. As they exited Othrys they both turned into a silver and bronze mist, fading in the night.

Then, Kronos returned to the palace, deciding that the next time he'll see Hestia, he will get rid of her.

He waited until midnight, to make sure that Rhea was asleep, fortunately she was a heavy sleeper, he knew that for sure. He approached the bed where the two of them slept peacefully and pick up Hestia from her mother's loose embrace, the child did not cry or wake up so he exited the room with her between his arms. Outside, in front of the golden nymphs of the door, he did what he had to do, he opened his mouth and swallowed her alive.

The next morning, Rhea woke up, hysterically sobbing, asking where her daughter was. Nymphs and satyrs — servants of the palace — were all running around, trying to find the lost child, to ease their Queen's pain. Kronos had went to see her as he woke up, way later than she did, fortunately for him, he didn't have to lie or act a lot, as his wife was too shocked to observe anything suspect, her thousands of questions, muffled by her sobs. Still, Kronos embraced and kissed her, it was true that the fault for all of it was his, but he couldn't see his beloved wife in pain like that.

Eight days and eight nights went by and Rhea had accepted the fact that her daughter was gone, but she was still inconsolable, she wouldn't exit their room and would hardly smile anymore.

And this was how in the ninth morning, Kronos woke up to see no other but Themis at the gates of Othrys, the wind ruffling her short, sapphire blue hair as her gold eyes flickered with fury. Though her intimidating posture, she still looked relatively calm, if you could call it that, at least, her bronze knives were still sheathed.

“You're on thin ice, Kronos” her voice thundered through the air.

“And what is this accusation supposed to mean?” the King ask, his eyebrows curling and his brown eyes turning dark.

“It means that I know it was you, I can feel that it was you that done something, you could have done it yourself or you’re just keeping a small detail secret from us, there’re are thousands of possibilities, but one thing I know for sure : you are implicated in this” Themis answered, her voice as threatening as the roars of a hundred Titans’

“And?” Kronus asked, looking rather bored from his sister's speech.

“And what?” the Titaness of Order and Law barked, but remaining at distance with her brother.

“And what are you going to say? Your intuitions may be true after all, you always know the right answer, but you still have no proof, no clue by your side and at my court, it won't count.” Kronos replied, his voice rough but calm and his disastrous eyes watching Themis in nearly amusement.

Themis didn't reply, she just shot him another electric look before walking past him, to her sister's room.

There, she found Rhea, no longer crying — perhaps because her tears have ended — but staring ghostly at a point in the room, her beautiful, black hair falling dirty and tangled on her shoulders. Themis had mercy, usually, she would just begin to rant about how wrong the person was, but right now, she just crossed the room and embraced her sister, burying her head in her black curls.

The two sisters held into each other as if they would be separated in every moment. If before entering the room, Themis thought that exposing Kronos would be the perfect strategy now she knew that it would turn Rhea's heart in mosaic pieces.

— rose